UCLA's James making most of switch to F-back

LOS ANGELES – When the UCLA coaching staff asked Jordon James to switch from running back to F-back, he didn't flinch. The redshirt freshman saw the switch as an opportunity to showcase his versatility.

"I can do a lot of stuff," James said after Wednesday's practice.

"Right now, I'm just trying to work more into the rotation and show the coaches that they can count on me."

The Bruins are counting heavily on James these days.

James, a 5-foot-9 running back, moved into the starting F-back spot after Anthony Barr had knee surgery and quickly made his presence felt on the field. In his first start against Oregon State, he carried the ball seven times for 32 yards and his first collegiate touchdown.

He scored on a 4-yard run in the second quarter of UCLA's 27-19 victory against the Beavers.

"It was unreal, really," James said. "I didn't know what to do. I just celebrated with my teammates and thanked the Lord for helping me get in there. I wasn't thinking anything."

Although his second start was less spectacular (two carries for 6 yards against Stanford), James said the touchdown has boosted his confidence and made him "work harder every day" — something that has not gone unnoticed.

"James has made tremendous progress, so every week his role gets bigger and bigger," running backs coach Jim Mastro said. "The more he can handle, the more we're going to give him.

"Every week we put a little more in but you have to be careful because you don't want to force-feed. That position you can't really force-feed, you have to understand it. So every week he's done more and more and more with the ball in his hands."

DYE SEEING RED

The neck roll stood 4 inches (or more) above the collar of Tony Dye's red, non-contact jersey. It was a not-so-subtle reminder of a neck injury that has kept the UCLA safety out the past two games.

"It's frustrating," Dye said after his limited practice Wednesday. "I can't turn my head. ... When I get into a stance, I'm just looking at the ground."

Because of the school's new policy on injuries, Dye wasn't allowed to comment on his injury that two weeks ago was listed as "general soreness."

ALTERED PRACTICE

Wednesday's rainy weather prompted the Bruins to alter their practice, with the offense doing drills first on the artificial turf, followed by the two sides working against each other. Practice concluded with defensive drills.

"Our grass field got to a place where we would have ruined it forever if we had been out there," Coach Rick Neuheisel said.